Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Geek Chic Black Friday Haul - Review and Swatches

This haul has been a long time coming! Geek Chic Cosmetics is one of my favorite indie brands thus far and were having a Black Friday sale. They also announced a Lord of the Rings eyeshadow collection, so I decided to grab some of those too. I decided to try some of their solid scents and Joysticks (lipsticks) as well. This was the Black Friday order that I was most excited to receive because I absolutely love their eyeshadow formula. It took a bit longer than usual, but I believe they sent out mass emails apologizing and informing us about the delay.

This cute lil Santa emoticon was on the invoice :)

Pictures taken under daylight bulb and swatches done over ELF Essential Primer (click to enlarge)

Starburst

Starburst: blue microshimmers with blue and white glitter. I got a full-size of this because it was super discounted and the swatch looked beautiful. However, I should have read more carefully because I didn't realize this wasn't really a shadow, but instead a glitter. The microshimmers are so fine that they actually went on opaque and stick on my skin with no sticky base (pretty awesome if you ask me).

Lady of the Golden Wood

Lady of the Golden Wood: gorgeous white shadow with pink sheen and gold shimmer. I believe this was inspired by Lady Galadriel who has beautiful blond hair. I needed this shade because I really love how Cate Blanchett played her in the films.

I Am No Man

I Am No Man: shimmery white gold. This is inspired by Eowyn and I needed this color because she's a great character also. I like how Tolkien made the women in the series so kick-ass.

One Ring

One Ring: metallic gold with gold glitter. Now this is a shade I would probably never wear, but I had to have it from the site swatch. It was such a brilliant and true gold that just called out to me. I would use a sticky base for this as the glitter tends to fall out and gets messy.

Daylight: Starburst, Lady of the Golden Wood, I Am No Man, One Ring, Stormcrow, Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold

Flash: Starburst, Lady of the Golden Wood, I Am No Man, One Ring, Stormcrow, Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold

We Are Coming

We Are Coming: bronze with blue glitter. The glitter doesn't show up too well in my swatch, but I can't wait to use this in a look. This is from the Doctor Who spinoff show, Torchwood and it was actually a really sad season :(

Golden Trio

Golden Trio: pinkened red with gold glitter. I've resisted this shade for a long time because I'm not fond of obvious glitter. Curiosity got the best of me during this sale and I bought it. I don't regret it, but I have yet to use it in a look.

He's Korean

He's Korean: satin dusty pink with gold shimmer. This is probably my favorite out of the haul; it has an amazing texture. It's gorgeous, soft, and silky and I'm really considering getting a full-size. That really says a lot since I'm not fond of pink shades.

The Pointy End

The Pointy End: perfect shimmery taupe. The texture of this one is also great, it was silky and pigmented.

Blood Wine

Blood Wine: shimmery burgundy with red glitter. I did not expect this to be so beautiful. This is my second favorite of the bunch and I might also get a full-size of this.

Madness

Madness: shimmery wine. This was my free sample, Geek Chic was giving out free samples with all orders, something they don't normally do since they have free shipping. Madness is actually one of the first colors I ever ordered from them so I'm glad I have a backup.

I don't have swatches of the Joysticks or a review of the Solid Scents yet. Those may come later which I will add onto this post. I'm pretty terrible at describing scents, but all I can say is Executioner and Witch of the Wilds are VERY incense-y. I applied a bit too much and kept wiping them off.

Dream Land, Sweet Transvestite, Stay Classy

Dreamland

Dreamland

Dreamland: light bubblegum pink. I believe this is inspired by Kirby, so it should be the same color as his body. This felt like a traditional lipstick; it was the least moisturizing and gave off a matte finish. It didn't glide onto my lips smoothly and accentuated all of my dry skin (even after exfoliating). It also went on really patchy; the patchiness was very noticeable because Dreamland is lighter than my natural lip color. I don't hate this Joystick, but I will have to exfoliate and put a LOT more effort into applying this one.

Sweet Transvestite

Sweet Transvestite

Sweet Transvestite: blood red. This is my favorite one out of the Joysticks in terms of color and texture. It applies easily; it was so smooth and comfortable to wear. Sweet Transvestite has a beautiful sheen when applied and I just love this color oh so much. Thanks to my love for Mr./Mrs. Frank n Furter, I now own one of the best reds ever.

Stay Classy

Stay Classy

Stay Classy: dark wine/burgundy. This is not as smooth as Sweet Transvestite, but still applies very easily. This is a beautiful color with an equally beautiful sheen. I'm a huge fan of vampy lipsticks and it all started with Victoria's Secret's lipstick in Intensity. It was a bit out of my price range back then so I set out to find a dupe. It seems like I've found it, but I may just purchase Intensity once and for all to make sure :P

Daylight: Dreamland, Sweet Transvestite, Stay Classy

If anyone is wondering about my eye makeup, it was done using eyeshadow from Scaredy Cat Cosmetics. I used Smooze on the inner corner (such a beautiful, beautiful color), Mythic on the lid, and Peacock Blood on the outer V. I used the same shadows on my lower lashline. The liquid eyeliner is the $1 one from ELF Cosmetics and I have the $1 white eyeliner from Wet n Wild on my waterline.

It's not a secret that I love Geek Chic. However, their samples contained a lot less product than I was used to and were pretty inconsistent this time. They just updated their FAQ to state that samples now contain 1/8 tsp. That's a lot less than I'm used to and I'm surprised that I was able to press them without any trouble. This is a bit bad for me because now I will probably want to order full-sizes instead of samples if they contain so little, and full-sizes are a lot of money to spend when I love practically everything on their site...

Have you tried Geek Chic yet? What are your favorite colors from them?